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| - With Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reporting that Eritrean plans to pull troops out of Ethiopia's conflict-hit Tigray region, here is a timeline of the ongoing crisis in Africa's second most populous country. The fighting begins on November 4 last year, with Abiy ordering a military response to what he calls a "traitorous" attack on federal army camps in Tigray. He blames the attack on the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated national politics for nearly three decades before Abiy took office in 2018. The TPLF denies responsibility and says the reported attack is a pretext for an "invasion". Two days later, with fighting intensifying, Abiy sacks the head of the military whose top brass includes many battle-hardened Tigrayans. On November 9 Ethiopia carries out more air strikes in Tigray with Abiy saying the operation will be all over "soon". Thousands of refugees flee into neighbouring Sudan as the African Union follows the United Nations in demanding an end to the fighting. Refugee flows later swell to above 60,000. Tensions between the two countries, whose frontier is disputed, mount. After ten days of fighting, the UN warns of possible war crimes in Tigray. Two weeks later, having rejected peace talks, Abiy says government tanks are advancing on Tigray's capital Mekele. The city comes under heavy shelling on November 28 before Abiy announces that military operations in Tigray are "completed". This month US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ramps up the pressure when he describes violence in western Tigray as "ethnic cleansing" and presses for a prompt investigation. He also calls for the exit of troops from Eritrea and from Ethiopia's Amhara region, which borders Tigray to the south. For months Ethiopia and Eritrea flatly deny the involvement of Eritrean forces in the conflict, and describe reports of their alleged atrocities as misinformation and propaganda. But on March 23 Ahmed admits that Eritrean troops had crossed the border into Tigray. He also suggests they may have been involved in abuses against civilians. The next day the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says Eritrean soldiers massacred over 100 civilians in Tigray in November, in what may amount to crimes against humanity. The findings by the government-affiliated but independent body corroborate separate investigations by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. After admitting Eritrea's role, Abiy flies to its capital Asmara to meet with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. He says on Friday that "the government of Eritrea has agreed to withdraw its forces" back over the border. A statement from Eritrea's government, however, makes no mention of a troop withdrawal deal. burs-eab/rcb/pma
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